منتدى استراحات زايد - A Muslim veil roils Quebec

A Muslim veil roils Quebec

March 13, 2010

A baby born in Toronto or its suburbs today will attend grade school in a region where the white population is in the minority, Statistics Canada reports. We are fast becoming a global community that glories in its diversity, vibrancy and cultural riches. The world is us

That makes it all the more painful to watch the fuss that is playing out in Quebec over Muslim women who wear the niqab or burqa that veil their faces and bodies. While a tiny minority dresses this way, those who do draw a disproportionate – and unjustifiable – share of intolerant attention

In a Keystone Kops spectacle that should make Canadians cringe, a Quebec "francization" official chased down Naema Ahmed as she wrote a French exam in a Montreal immigrant centre on Tuesday and told her to remove her veil or leave. She left, in tears

"I feel like the government is following me everywhere," the 29-year-old Egyptian immigrant, pharmacist and mother of three said

This wasn't Ahmed's first clash with the authorities. Last year she chose to leave Saint-Laurent community college following complaints that she was causing friction by wearing a veil and keeping her distance from male students. There, too, it was lose the veil or go

The Quebec government is now affirming a "principle" that people who get public services must do so with their faces uncovered

There's no denying that the niqab and burqa are controversial, and off-putting to some. Many Muslims regard the garb as cultural, not religious, and as a sign of women's subservience. Adjudicating what is – and isn't – a bona fide article of faith is a slippery slope. Women do isolate themselves by wearing it, but surely that is their choice – not a matter for government enforcement

What's the pressing need to require women to uncover their faces, absent some compelling reason of public safety or identification? Who was Ahmed threatening? She was a student, not a teacher. She was trying to integrate into Quebec society, in her own way. If she ever learns French she'll be able to communicate better with the people around her. So will her kids

The claim by officials that Ahmed's face must be visible to correct her pronunciation, is risible. Is it better to force her out of class? The sad truth is, Ahmed is a pawn in a nasty identity debate

Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government is under pressure to suppress displays of cultural difference at a time when Muslims and other minorities are making their presence felt, though less forcefully than in other big provinces. It's all done in the name of "secularism" and sexual equality, of course. But at the end of the day it means discriminating against women who dress differently

As Canada evolves, some attitudes need to evolve as well

The Toronto Star